Meditation in Baseball - Inside the Mental Training Process of Chicago White Sox Pitcher Dylan Cease
Whether we’re aware of it — or not — the mental images we create and carry around (both positive and negative) have a direct impact on physical and mental performance in baseball.
When you begin to train the skill of mental imagery and meditation, you will notice that you are better able to stay calm under pressure and focus on the present task, this next pitch, rather than getting caught up in the past or future.
You will also increase your confidence through an advanced form of preparation that most of your competition doesn’t even know exists.
For more on how to meditate in baseball like Dylan, check out my FREE 60min Baseball Masterclass at BrianCain.com/baseball.
Athletes like LeBron James are literally invested into Meditation as evident by his Mindset program in the Calm Meditation app that I personally use and recommend to my clients.
In the app, James shares a story when he use meditation to help him in a game.
It was Game #3 of the 2012 NBA Finals. James was about to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers out of a time-out and onto the floor for a chance at a last-second shot to give his team the win. What was he doing when he was sitting on the bench during that time-out? He wasn’t drawing up X’s and O’s. He wasn’t getting Icy Hot rubbed into his legs.
He was focusing on his breath. He was using meditation to calm himself down, to get in control of himself so that he could be in control of his performance.
LeBron knows the importance of a clear mind and self-control in competition and he knows that meditation is HOW you develop the skill of gaining a clear mind and self-control.
LeBron has a five-part series on training your mind that was featured in the Calm meditation app that I HIGHLY recommend you listen to.
MEDITATION AS A PART OF YOUR DAILY ROUTINE
Elite athletes know that meditation is an essential part of their mental performance mastery training program because when you do meditation, you are strengthening three critical skills in your development as an athlete: focus, awareness and self-control.
I want to take you through a SIMPLE and EFFECTIVE practice called the 6-2-8 meditation exercise that you can do to get started.
THE 6-2-8 MEDITATION
Let’s start with the 6-2-8 meditation. You’re simply going to inhale for 6 seconds, hold for 2, and then exhale for 8. This is a form of meditation and a focus training that you can do anywhere, anytime. Make it your goal to do this training for three minutes a day or more.
Now, as you’re inhaling and counting to 6, holding for 2, and then exhaling for 8, I want you to imagine a scoreboard or a shot clock in basketball or a play clock in football and see that scoreboard or clock change with each number of your breath.
I have provided a script here if you want to record your own voice on your phone so you will have an audio to guide you if you find that better than just doing it on your own.
Simply take five 6-2-8 breaths and learn to be in control of yourself. Remember, you must be in control of yourself before you can control your performance.
If your sport has time-outs, or in football after a series when you come to the sideline, or in the dugout in baseball or softball, you can use the 6-2-8 meditation for one to three reps. That will help you slow your heart rate down and get back in control of yourself and back into the present before your next series in football, next shift in hockey, next at-bat, or next inning as a pitcher in baseball or softball.
6-2-8 MEDITATION SCRIPT
OK, here we go. We will begin in… 3, 2, 1:
Inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, hold, 2, exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, hold, 2, exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, hold, 2, exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, hold, 2, exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Inhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, hold, 2, exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
As you did that exercise, did your mind wander to something other than the next number? If it did, don’t judge as good or bad; just recognize it for what it is. If you were able to recognize that and pull your mind back to the next number, that’s building the skill of awareness and training your ability to focus.
If you had a full inhale at three and couldn’t make it to six, you will get better and learn to control your breathing with time. Another way you can do this meditation is to simply use the stopwatch on your cell phone and look at your phone as it counts for you.
